An alternative to worry

a law-abiding honest man received a voicemail that said this is officer nobody from the police department. Please call me at this number. Immediately the man began to worry afraid that somehow he had done something wrong. He was afraid to return the call and he even spent sleepless nights running through possible scenarios where that he was in some kind of trouble. The officer never called back but it took weeks for the word to go away. Jesus ask an interesting question about worry can anyone of You by worrying at a single hour to your life? Perhaps this can help us we think our tendency to worry because it suggests it it doesn't help the situation we're concerned about. when problems are on the horizon for us maybe we can try the following two step approach take action and trust in God. If we can do something to avoid the problem let's try that. We can pray for God to guide us to an action we should take. But if there's nothing we can do we can take comfort in knowing that God never finds himself in such a predicament. He can always act on our behalf. We can always turn our situation over to him and trust and confidence. When it feels like time to worry May return to the inspired words of King David he faced his own share of difficulties and worries but concluded cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you. What a great alternative to worry! Father you know what base is me today. I am turning my cares over to you. Please strengthen me and help me to trust with the struggles I face. What worries do you need to give to God today?

Hope is our strategy

my favorite football team has lost eight consecutive games as I write this. With each loss is harder to hope this season can be redeemed for them. The coach has made changes weekly but they haven't resulted in wins. Talking with my co-workers I've joked that merely wanting a different outcome can't guarantee it. Hope is not a strategy I've quit that's true in football but in our spiritual lives it's just the opposite. Not only is cultivating hope and got a strategy but clinging to him in faith and trust is the only strategy. This world often disappoints us but hope can anchor us in God's truth and power during the turbulent times. Micah understood this reality. He was heartbroken by how is real head turned away from God what misery is mine! The faithful have been swept from the land. not one upright person remains. But then he refocus on his true hope. But as for me I watch and hope for the Lord I wait for God my savior my God will hear me. What does it take to maintain hope in harsh times? My cat shows us. Watching. Waiting. Praying. Remembering. God hears our cries even when our circumstances are overwhelming. And these moments cleaning to an acting in response to our Hope in God is our strategy the only strategy that will help us whether life storms. Bother you if you promise to be an anchor for our hearts when circumstances look discouraging. Help us call out to you and Faith and Hope believing that you hear our hearts cries. What does it take to maintain hope in her style is? Watching. Waiting. Praying. Remembering.

Don't be afraid!

nearly every time an angel appears in the Bible the first words he says are Don't be afraid! Little wonder. When the supernatural makes contact with planet Earth it usually leaves a human observers flat on their faces and fear. But Luke tells of God making an appearance in a form that doesn't frighten. In Jesus born with the animals and laid it in a feeding trough God takes a nap wrote that we need not fear. What could be less scary than a newborn baby? On Earth Jesus is both God and man. As God he can work miracles forgive sins conquered death and predict the future but for Jews accustomed to images of God is bright cloud or pillar of fire Jesus also cause as much confusion. how could a baby in Bethlehem a carpenter's son a Man from Nazareth be the Messiah from God? Why does God take on human form? The scene of 12 year old Jesus debating rabbis in the temple gives one clue. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers Luke tells us. For the first time ordinary people could hold a conversation with god and visible form. Jesus can talk to anyone his parents a rabbi a poor widow without having to announce Don't be afraid! In Jesus God draws near. Heavenly Father we pause at Christmas to remember how your son came to us in the form of a helpless baby and we worship in amazement and wonder that God came near to us. Jesus was God and man in one person that God and man might be happy together again.

God's Hidden Hand

God's Hidden Hand

My friend was adopted by a missionary couple from the United States and grew up in Ghana. After his family moved back to the US, he began college but had to drop out. Later, he signed on with the military, which eventually helped him pay for college and took him all over the world. Through it all, God was at work, preparing him for a special role. Today, he writes and edits Christian literature that ministers to an international audience.

His wife also has an interesting story. She failed her chemistry exams during her first year of college due to the strong medication she had to take for epilepsy. After some careful deliberation, she switched from studying science to studying American sign language, which had a more manageable workload. Reflecting on that experience, she says, " God was redirecting my life for a greater purpose. " Today, she is making His life-changing Word accessible to the hearing -impaired.

Do you sometimes wonder where God is leading you? Psalm 139:16 acknowledges God's sovereign hand in our lives: " Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to b." We don't know how God will use the circumstances of our life, but we can rest in the knowledge that God knows everything about us and is directing our footsteps. Though His sovereign hand may seem hidden, Hes never absent.

Dear Lord, help me to trust You when I don't understand.

What steps can you take to discern God's leading or to act on His call for your life?

A Hand Up

A Hand Up

My children have enjoyed the thrill of a backyard ice skating rink-during the cold Idaho winters. When they were young, learning to skate was challenging: persuading them to deliberately set foot on the hard, icy surface proved difficult because they knew the pain of falling. Each time their feet slid from under them, my husband or I would reach out to pull them again to their feet, setting them upright and steadying their frames.

Having someone there to help us up when we fall is the gift of a helping hand depicted in Ecclesiastes. Working with another makes our work sweeter and more effective, and a friend brings warmth to our lives. When we encounter challenges, it helps to have someone come alongside with pratical and emotional support. Thee relationships can give us strength, purpose, and comfort.

When we find ourselves flattened on the cold ice of life's hardships, is there a helping hand nearby? If so, it might be from God. Or when someone else needs a friend, could we be God's answer to lift them up? In being a companion, we often find one. If it appears that no one is nearby to lift us to our feet again, we can find comfort in knowing that God is our ever present help. As we reach out to Him, He's ready to steady us with His firm grip.

Thank You, Father, for helping me up when life knocks me down. Thank You for the people You've used to encourage and strengthen me. Yours is the most faithful I have.

How can you open yourself more fully to God's presence in your life?

Questions at Christmas

Questions at Christmas

Well before the calendar flips to December, Christmas cheer begins to bubble up in our northern town. A medical office drapes its trees and shrubs in close fitting strings of lights, each a different color, illuminating a breathtaking nighttime landscape. Another business decorates its building to look like an enormous, extravagantly wrapped Christmas present. It's difficult to turn anywhere without seeing evidence of Christmas spirit_or at least seasonal marketing.

Some people love these lavish displays. Others take a more cynical view, But the crucial question isn't how others observe Christmas. Rather, we each need to consider what the celebration means to us.

A little more than thirty years after His birth, Jesus asked His disciples, " Who do people say the Son of Man is?" They gave responses others had given: John the baptist, Elijah, maybe another prophet. Then Jesus made it personal: " Who do you say I am?" Peter replied, " You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."

Many will celebrate Christmas without a thought about who the Baby really is. As we interact with them, we can help them consider these crucial questions: Is Christmas just a heartwarming story about a baby born in a stable? Or did our Creator visit His creation and become one of us?

Father in heaven, may our Christmas celebrations this year, whether lavish or small, honor the Messiah who came to redeem His creation.

Who do you say Jesus is?

Thanks for being You!

Thanks for Being You!

When I served as my mom's live-in caregiver at a cancer center, I got to know Lori, another caregiver who lived down the hallway from us with her husband, Frank. I would chat, laugh, vent, cry, and pray with Lori in the shared living areas. We enjoyed supporting each other as we cared for our loved ones.

One day, I missed the free shuttle that took residents to buy groceries. Lori offered to drive me to the store later that evening. With grateful tears, I accepted her offer. " Thanks for being you, " I said, I truly appreciated her as a friend.

Psalm 100 demonstrates an appreciation of God for who He is, not simply for all He does. The psalmist invites " all the earth" to worship the Lord with gladness," being confident in knowing " the Lord is God." Our Maker invites us into His presence to " give thanks to him and praise his name". Yes, the Lord remains worthy of our ongoing thankfulness because He " is good," His " love endures forever," and His " faithfulness continues through all generations."

God will always be the Creator and Sustainer of the universe and our intimately loving Father. He deserves our genuine joy-filled gratitude.

Lord, thanks for being You!

Who can you share God's love with today?